Silver Furniture Design · 2024
Luar Armchair
by Lattoog
- A' Design Award 2024 Silver Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: Lattoog
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 55,424
- Verification code 56F77CB86D · Verify this award
About Luar Armchair
The Luar armchair is the result of a transformation into a piece of furniture of the iconographic stone sidewalk patterns of Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, the designers' hometown. The armchair presents a composition of contrasts: Wood, with all its slenderness and transparency, contrasts with upholstered elements that are robust, soft and comfortable. Its shape comes from a technique that the companies Lattoog and Schuster have researched over ten years. Pressed wood micro laminates that allow seamless, curvilinear, and highly resistant structures, with optimal use of the material.
The Luar Armchair by Lattoog exemplifies a distinguished approach to contemporary furniture design that thoughtfully bridges industrial precision with artisanal sensibility, positioning itself within a lineage of seating that celebrates the expressive potential of natural materials and organic form. The work demonstrates remarkable compositional intelligence through its fan-shaped backrest configuration, where individually crafted wooden spindles radiate outward from a central point of convergence, creating a visual rhythm that evokes both the mathematical elegance of geometric progression and the spontaneous beauty found in natural phenomena such as unfurling leaves or spreading sunlight. Technical merit reveals itself through the seamless integration of bent or steam-formed wooden elements that curve with apparent effortlessness while maintaining structural integrity, suggesting mastery of traditional woodworking techniques elevated through contemporary refinement. The chromatic dialogue between the warm, richly toned wood frame and the cool neutral upholstery establishes visual sophistication through restraint rather than ostentation, inviting the eye to appreciate subtle variations in grain pattern and textile weave. Thematically, the design appears to explore questions of shelter and embrace, as the encircling wooden structure creates a sense of protected intimacy while the generous cushioning promises bodily comfort. The interplay between transparency and opacity, between the permeable spindle screen and the solid upholstered mass, suggests meditation on boundaries between interior and exterior experience. One might consider how the piece transforms the act of sitting into an experience of being gently held within an architectural gesture, inviting viewers to contemplate their own relationship to objects that shape daily life with such considered grace.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- We sought to apply to this armchair a technique that we have explored and refined over the last ten years with pressed wood microlaminates that allow seamless curvilinear, slender and very resistant forms, with optimal use of the raw material.
Here, we bring a composition of contrasts: wood with all its slenderness and transparency contrasting with upholstered elements, seat and back, that are rich, soft and comfortable. - Dimensions & Packaging
- dimensions: width 940mm x depth 920mm x height 740mm
weight: 19,00 kg
dimensions of the recycled paper packaging: width 990mm x depth 970mm x height 790mm - Tags
- armchair, wood technique, wood, brazilian design, curved wood, certified wood, sustainable, upholstery, ergonomic
- Production Technology
- Curved microlaminated brazilian wood tauari, recycled pet upholstery. Tauari is one of 22 alternative wood species whose use has been encouraged by the Brazilian Institute of The Environment and Renewable Resources, Ibama, for the manufacture of furniture.
- Design Challenge
- The process of redesigning the iconographic geometry of the sidewalks of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, and its subsequent three dimensionalization, served as the core of the creative exercise that resulted in the design of the Luar armchair. One of the biggest challenges was transforming these two dimensional shapes into three dimensional forms that provided good ergonomics.
- Project Duration
- The project started in January 2023 in Rio de Janeiro and was launched in March 2024 at the Sao Paolo Design Week.
- Operation Flow
- The Luar armchair is an indoor furniture designed to enhance and bring to homes two of Rio de Janeiro's main urban icons: the Copacabana and Ipanema beach stone sidewalks.
- Research
- A very present focus of study in the work of the design studio that created this armchair has been the transformation of urban elements and icons into pieces of furniture. In general, the main reference is Rio de Janeiro, the designers' hometown. Its construction technique was developed in partnership with the manufacturer and has been constantly refined during the last ten years: Pressed wood microlaminates that allow seamless curvilinear, slender and very resistant forms, with optimal use of the raw material.
- Inspiration
- The Luar armchair was born as a result of a three dimensionalization exercise of preexisting and very valuable graphic patterns within the creative process of Lattoog designers: the iconographic modular designs of the stone sidewalks on the shores of Ipanema and Copacabana beaches in Rio de Janeiro, hometown of the designers of this piece.
This armchair receives a romantic name in Portuguese: Luar, which means Moonlight in English. - Image Credits
- Image #1: Lattoog, 2024. Image #2: Lattoog, 2024. Image #3: Lattoog, 2024. Image #4: Lattoog, 2024. Image #5: Lattoog, 2024.
Colors of Luar Armchair
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Contemporary Brazilian Furniture Collection
We transform Rio de Janeiro's iconic urban patterns into award-winning furniture. Combining innovative curved wood techniques with sustainable materials, we craft pieces that celebrate Brazilian culture while delivering exceptional comfort and design.
G0E26 ShopDesign Interview about Luar Armchair
The Luar armchair was born as a result of a three dimensionalization exercise of preexisting and very valuable graphic patterns within the creative process of Lattoog designers: the iconographic modular designs of the stone sidewalks on the shores of Ipanema and Copacabana beaches in Rio de Janeiro, hometown of the designers of this piece. This armchair receives a romantic name in Portuguese: Luar, which means Moonlight in English.
We were working to fulfill a request from a manufacturer who was looking for a piece made mainly of wood and with a very peculiar design, with lots of curves. The aim was to create a unique piece that would be difficult for competitors to copy, something that has been a challenge for us lately.
Our intention is for the product to be available in the main stores in Brazil initially and then to enter the American and South American markets.
The project started in January 2023 in Rio de Janeiro and was launched in March 2024.
It was designed for a manufacturer, right, who is already a long-standing partner, and who will do the marketing and pay us a royalty on sales.
It was designed for a manufacturer that has been our partner for a long time, Schuster Furniture, and it will be this company that will take care of the marketing, paying us royalties on sales.
In this case, we weren't directly inspired by another designer's work. However, we applied a technique that we had previously developed in the Temes Armchair, which we created a few years ago with Schuster Móveis, and this technique has now been reused. The Temes Armchair, in turn, was influenced by Joaquim Tenreiro, a Portuguese designer who lived in Brazil during the modernist era and is considered one of the forerunners of modern Brazilian design.
Normally, our target audience is made up of class A, characterized by high purchasing power and an interest in design. It is also common for this audience to be predominantly female, aged over 40.
We aimed to incorporate a narrative deeply linked to Rio de Janeiro, highlighting its beaches, promenades and characteristic architecture, since it is our city. The design is very simplified, consisting only of a curved plane of hollowed-out wood and a large cushion suspended from the ground, with no apparent fittings.
Inspiration has always been anchored in the Ipanema beach promenade in Rio de Janeiro, a place that is part of our daily lives. That's why we chose a very poetic name, Luar Armchair, which means moonlight in Portuguese and evokes a Brazilian atmosphere and refers to the nature present in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
What makes the design unique is a woodworking technique that makes it possible to create delicate, uniform curves without the joints being noticeable.
We collaborated with Schuster Móveis, a manufacturer with whom we have had a partnership for 15 years. And the technique used in the Luar Armchair of molding wood microlaminates was developed with them a decade ago.
We concentrated on carrying out technical research for the development of the Luar Armchair, exploring and refining the processes directly, in practice, in the factory environment, rather than exclusively developing theoretical studies. We focused on testing and perfecting the technique of working with extremely fine micro-laminates, as well as selecting the right glues, pressing methods and dyes.
We've been following the A' Design Awards for many years, but throughout these 20 years of practice, we've never submitted any of our products. There have been times when we regretted not having submitted other products to the A' Design Award, so we decided to take the time this year to enter the Luar Armchair as we believe it deserves to take part.
Grand Interview about Luar Armchair
Since the beginning of our work as furniture designers, we had the objective of developing a language that would translate our city – Rio de Janeiro – into the forms of furniture and objects. And one of these projects is precisely the Luar Armchair and Copacabana, a place very present in our lives and our childhood. The stone pavements’ graphics then gained a third dimension, with extrusions, folds, and so on... until it became an ergonomic piece that could be an armchair. This was not a creative process that began with this specific armchair, but we were certainly very satisfied with the result of this specific experience.
We like contrasts, transparency, curves, comfort, seduction... We looked for a situation where the robust seat element appeared to be almost floating, with no visible fixings.
This is the result of a very close relationship between designer and manufacturer. A work model that we strongly believe in. Without this long relationship, techniques like this would not emerge. We believe there is no factory without a designer, there is no designer without a factory.
In Brazil we have a huge variety of wood species, probably more than any other country in the world. In fact, the name of our country is the name of a native species of wood that Portuguese colonizers used to make red paint. This species - the Pau-Brasil - became practically extinct, as well as several other species, and its extraction is prohibited today. This is very symbolic in many ways. Brazil has a task give its own answers to the world on how to take care of nature and natural resources. We work a lot with wood and the entire decision to choose the species is based on its origins, the method of planting and extracting. We are also aware that each wood type, due to its density and resistance, requires a different design response.
This is very related to our childhood and experiences close to the sea and nature. Copacabana was the birthplace of bossa nova music that always sang about the sea, beauty and nature. We looked for a poetic and light name for our armchair because it translates very well not only our way of designing but the spirit of the culture of an entire nation.
More than influencing, this long-distance relationship makes these types of projects viable. We are constantly exchanging ideas on how to develop new techniques and transform them into products with some magic and seduction. The objective of the parts involved is the same: to enchant and follow new paths with wooden construction.
It is undoubtedly a great happiness to be recognized with this important award. Regardless of the award, we would continue with this way of working that we had already been doing before. The big difference is that now we are able to show our way of thinking and designing to a more international audience.
Rio de Janeiro, in a way, is an isolated city: Facing the sea, surrounded by forests and very far from any other country. This makes us feel a certain need to show the world our culture through our work. At the beginning of our work as designers - twenty-five years ago - the most common practice in the local market was to copy European models. We have worked hard over the years to help to forge not only a contemporary Brazilian identity but also the public's desire to consume products with these characteristics. Looking back, I believe we were successful in this task.
We don't believe in good furniture design without good ergonomics. We have seen in the history of design great iconic chairs that, despite their importance, were not very confortable. So, since day one of our practice, we had the clear goal of having ergonomics as one of the central keys of our design process. To achieve that, we do a lot of prototypes and use extensively our own bodies to test them.
A word that has been very popular in our contemporary society is Diversity. We want this characteristic to be part of our production methods too. We really enjoyed seeing in the production of our pieces the need for professionals with a lot of experience in traditional techniques (generally older people) and simultaneously the need for advanced technology, which is generally dominated by young workers. These projects bring different generations together within the factories.